If reports are accurate, Dana Holgorsen has just finished hiring his defensive staff to replace Jeff Casteel and crew that moved on to Arizona.
Mike Smith, who was a linebacker at Texas Tech while Holgorsen was there, has been unofficially named the linebackers coach. It is unclear at this moment, but it appears that he will also have a hand in coordinator duties.
Previously, Holgorsen announced the addition of Joe DeForest from Oklahoma St. DeForest will have a hand in special teams, likely will coach the safeties and will also likely be a co-coordinator.
This morning Football Scoop announced that Daron Roberts will move over from being the WR coach to coach the corners. Couple that trio with holdover Steve Dunlap and you’ve got the defensive staff in place.
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Mike Smith joins the Mountaineers after being an intern with the NY Jets for 1 season. Before landing with the Jets, Smith spent 1 season as a linebackers coach with the University of Hawaii. Smith essentially has 2 seasons as a coach.
The flip side, though, is that Smith appears to be an “up and comer” and a guy with a great work ethic. He studied under Rex Ryan with the NY Jets. Ryan, as many know, is known as a defensive mastermind. He probably couldn’t have learned from anyone better.
DeForest comes to WVU from Ok St where he worked wonders with the special teams and also coached the safeties. But Mike Gundy hired a new defensive coordinator in ’05, ’07 & ’09 and DeForest wasn’t given a shot. I wonder why? The guess here is that DeForest’s role will be more so with special teams and the safeties and less with the coordinator duties, but I could be completely wrong.
Did Holgorsen make the right call going with two guys to run the defense with so little experience? It’s probably a bit of a risky move, but when other alternatives were out of WVU’s price range then Holgorsen has to turn to plan B.
The good news is that both Smith & DeForest have a guy in Dunlap that they can turn to should they need help or have questions. Dunlap, as many know, has been a defensive coordinator for many years. He led the Mountaineers ’96 defense to the #1 total defense ranking. Quite an accomplishment for little ole West Virginia who doesn’t get their pick of recruits.
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What grade would you give Holgorsen for his defensive staff hiring?
Ern is the generalist of the group. He contributes original content, posts links to news articles, tracks all the developments in Morgantown, keeps his pulse on the Mountaineer fan nation, etc... he does it all. 
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C- to possibley C,,,, expected much more than this, ,,, this won’t bring in any big time recruits,,,sorry,,, just expected lots more than this.
Seriously? How do you gauage your remark? It’s been pretty well established that Casteel has had Top 25 defenses over his tenure and we rarely had a 4 or 5 star recruits( not that it matters anyways with Casteel gone or with regards to the rating of highschool athletes). I personally am glad to have the positions filled so that we can establish our defensive scheme for the next season.
I think it is great and actually think it will be good for recruits. Kids will relate to Mike Smith and is age being that he is only 30. They will love the fact that he played and coached in the NFL. The only issue I have is why not make Dunlap the DC? He has a proven track record and could be a leader for the younger staff members. Maybe this is what is going to take place and we do not know yet. in time I think we will have a great D again.
I wondered why Roberts was hired last year as a receivers coach, but, was pleased with the development of the receivers this year. Holgorsen, and Luck, seem to have an eye for young coaching talent. Still, I would feel much better if a defensive coach that was a “known” commodity were hired. Co-defensive coordinators seems like the coach-in-waiting scenario to me. I know other schools employ co-coordinators…
I had thought Dunlap would take over linebackers when Casteel left, most of his position responsibilities over the years had been with linebackers. Plus, I had wondered if he might take over his old title of d-coordinator at WVU. He has only worked as a d-line coach for a couple of seasons, though both seasons WVU had a very good d-line, 82-83.
Adding two NFL coaches to the defensive side has to help the grade, but I feel a little antsy about the experience side. Still, a solid “B” is in order from Akron.
We should have brought in Tom Bradley
We should have brought in Tom Bradley
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Really, you want us to be the program with the stain and criticism that that would bring?
time will tell. it definitely has a DH flavor – he’s not afraid to take chances on the field and with his staff. Dunlap has given us some exceptional D’s and if he is grooming deForest, we should be in good shape. Roberts to D is perhaps my greatest concern. Lockwood produced some exceptional DB’s who were raw talent.
Smith I think will do great with the linebackers. DeForest should ramp up our special teams and is an exceptional recruiter.
We lost a ton of experience that showed up on game day – especially in second half adjustments. I’d feel much worse about this staff without Dunlap. His wisdom/experience will steady the youthful enthusiasm. (How old is Dunlap?)
Now the one unknown is recruiting since we have two more guys with Texas/midwest roots. Someone(s) will have to establish relationships in “new territory” (for them) in the East.
So now we need another O hire?
Bradley – no guarantee he would have fit and maybe he already turned DH down.
Deforest is said to be one of the best recruiters in the B12. I heard an interview with a writer from the area that his hire was serving notice to the B12 that we not only came to compete, we came to win.